Next Thursday, January 17th, we will move to Manresa to provide specific training on the incidence of public procurement rules in the field of biomass. In particular we will discuss the criteria to promote green public procurement introduced by Law 9/2017 of Public Sector Contracts and reservation of public procurement.

This training has been organized within the Biomassa Cluster of Catalonia and will be carried out by the lawyer of the firm Jorge Andrey. It will take place in the Palau Firal de Manresa, in the PIMEC Catalunya Central space, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

On Friday, December 14th, we will attend the V General Assembly and round table on energy storage of the RIS3CAT community. Along with AEPIBAL, the Business Association of Batteries and Storage, will be present at the round table where different projects will be presented and will discuss future challenges in research and development on energy storage in a broad view: from batteries for electric mobility or self-consumption, chemical storage or integration in distribution networks.

The event will take place on December 14th from 08:45 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. in the ACCIÓ Conference Hall (Passeig de Gràcia, 129. Barcelona). You can access the complete information and the registration form of this appointment here.

On Thursday, December 13th, will take place at the Hall of the Palau Robert Cotxeres in Paseo de Gracia number 107, Barcelona, a key event for self-consumption: the 2018 Plenary Meeting of the taula d'impuls to l'autoconsum fotovoltaic de Catalunya . This initiative, sponsored by the ICAEN whose legal working group leads our firm, seeks to facilitate and promote self-consumption in Catalonia. Self-consumption is destined to play an essential role in the energy transition, and should help decisively to meet the ambitious targets set in the Catalan Law 16/2017 of climate change.

During this event will be released the work done during 2018 and report on the roadmap for the year 2019.

From 6th to 7th November the V Solar Forum organized by UNEF will be held at the IFEMA fairgrounds in Madrid.

The main objective of this forum is to establish a meeting place and debate for the photovoltaic solar industry in Spain. It brings together the main players in the sector, both nationally and internationally, to discuss current issues that affect the industry. HOLTROP SLP Transaction & Business Law is an official sponsor of this event, which will be attended by Ms. Teresa Ribera, Minister for Ecological Transition, Mr. Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Action for Climate and Energy, European Commission and José Blanco , MEP and rapporteur of the new Renewables Directive.

As on previous occasions, Piet Holtrop will be a speaker at the Solar Forum. His presentation will take place on Wednesday 7 from 11:45 to 12:45 in the regulatory block, in which the driving question will be how it affects the regulation of access and connection to the promotion of large plants.

On the 13th and 14th we will be present at the Brokerage Event, organized by ACCIÓ, of the world reference congress of sustainable cities, the Smart City Expo World Congress. During the event, networking sessions will be held for contacting professionals dedicated to the world of sustainable cities and the entire water cycle.

After the success of the National Congress of Renewable Energies that was held last October, APPA is organizing a new edition called Renovables 2018 that will take place in Madrid on October 18 and 19 at the Auditorio de la Mutua Madrileña located in the Paseo de la Castellana 33.This congress will provide a global vision of the national renewable sector. For this, the congress has been divided into two days. The first day, the business, institutional and political vision of the necessary energy transition will be transferred. On the second day, more specific topics will be addressed in simultaneous sessions.Piet Holtrop will also participate this year presenting the paper "Regulatory Framework for Contracts PPAs."Soon we will post the agenda of the event here.

On 17 April 2018 the event "Cities, Energy and Climate Change" will take place at the Valencia Institute for Business Competitivity (IVACE). The event is organized by UNEF (the Spanish Photovoltaic Union) and the Fundación Ciudad.

The objective of the event is to provide local councils with the necessary tools required to develop self-consumption installations under the current legal framework and inform them of how to combat climate change through energy efficiency and renewables. There will also be a debate with respect to how to incentivize photovoltaic self-consumption. The target audience of the event consists of local councils, renewable energy companies and the photovoltaic sector.

Piet Holtrop will participate as a speaker on the topic "Bilateral Contracts for the Sale and Purchase of Energy as an Investment Option for Councils".

This coming Thursday, 26 March we will be attending an event in Girona titled "Implantació de l’energia solar fotovoltaica amb autoconsum en els municipis" ("Promoting Photovoltaic Self-Consumption in Local Government"). The event's objective is to identify, on the one hand, the opportunities and application processes necessary for the development of photovoltaic installations by local government entities, and on the other hand, to discuss how to remove administrative barriers with respect to private photovoltaic installations. The event will also provide a summary of the results of a study into the integration of charging points for electric cars and photovoltaic installations installed on buildings, along with a discussion of potential sources of assistance and financing.

The event is designed principally for employees of local governments.

Piet Holtrop will participate in the conference as speaker in a session titled "All that local governments need to know about self-consumption" ("Tot el que les entitats locals han de saber sobre l'autoconsum").

We will provide the complete event program and the registration details as soon as they are available.

On 20 March the Catalan Municipal Association will host an event in which the new Law on Public Sector Contracts will be analyzed. This law will come into effect on 9 March 2018. The event will focus on especially relevant aspects of public contracting at the local government level.

On 7 March 2018 the Energy Expo in Igualada will take place, under the thematic "Strategies for an efficient energy". The conference will discuss issues relevant to the sector, including self-consumption and energy efficiency in an industrial context. Piet Holtrop will participate as a speaker in a round table entitled "Self-consumption: service quality and modifications to capacity". You can register for the event and access the program here.

On 15 February and 22 February APPA Renovables will hold a conference on PPAs in Madrid and Barcelona respectively. The conference will analyze in detail the characteristics and requirements for PPAs. The conferences are designed to join the principle actors involved in the preparation and execution of PPAs and to encourage networking and commercial contacts.

The session in Madrid will take place in the offices Cuasrecasas, at Calle de Almagro, 9. Cuartecasas will provide the legal content in this session.

The session in Barcelona will take place in the Torre del Banco Sabadell, at Avenida Diagonal, 407. The legal explications in this session will be provided by HOLTROP SLP Transaction & Business Law.

On Tuesday, 21 February at the Hotel Herperia in Madrid (Paseo de la Castellana número 57) the conference "Wind Power and the Market: New modalities for the sale of electricity" will take place, organized by the Wind Power Business Association.

During this event Piet Holtrop will speak on the legal and regulatory issues associated with different contractual models for the sale and purchase of electricity. You can access the program here. To register, click here. Registration is limited.

On 22 January 2018 the UNEF PPA Working Group will meet. UNEF has a variety of different working groups in which prestigious professionals from different backgrounds meet to discuss the issues of most relevance to the photovoltaic industry.

Without a doubt one such issue is the rise of bilateral contracts for the sale and purchase of energy, also known as PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements). PPAs are destined to contribute decisvely to the development of new photovoltaic projects. Amongst other reasons for this is the fact that these contracts assist greatly in the financing of projects, given that they allow for a diversification of the income streams available to developers, such that electricity can be sold directly to pool, individually to a specific purchaser, or as a type of financial instrument to minimise exposure to volatile electricity prices.

Piet Holtrop will present on the principal aspects to take into account in these agreements from a legal point of view.

On Thursday, 22 February 2018 the EolicCat General Assembly will take place. EolicCat is the wind power association of reference in Catalonia, an association of which we are members. Piet Holtrop will attend this event, in which some of the key decisions for the development of the wind power sector in Catalonia will be taken, and which will also discuss PPAs. Piet Holtrop is invited to comment one the legal aspects of this type of bilateral energy contract.

On 14 December 2017 we will be attending the event "Control of emissions in biomass installations", organized by the Biomass Cluster of Catalonia. The event will detail new technical regulations and how they impact on current installations and practices. Piet Holtrop will provide a presentation on relevant laws and regulations and explain how these impact on the design and implementation of new biomass installations in Catalonia.

The event will take place in Casal TorreBlanca in Sant Cugat del Vallés. Below, you can find the full program.

On 19 December 2017 we will be attending a Catalan Energy Institution event with respect to the promotion of the electric car. The event will centre on a discussion about the recently approved EU Clean Mobility Package and will also encompass the launching of the Catalan plan for the deployment of electric car charging infrastructure (the plan known colloquially as TIRVEC). The event is open to the public and will take place from 11.30 to 14.30 at the Palau Robert, Passeig de Gracia 107 in Barcelona.

At 13.30 Piet Holtrop will speak on recent modifications to the 'Charging Manager' ("Gestor de Carga") figure under Spanish law. These changes are essential for the development of the electric vehicle in Spain and Catalonia. Piet Holtrop's presentation will provide an overview of these modifications and whether or not they go far enough in the context of electric mobility scenarios in the future. On 24 November Piet Holtrop recently published an article on the topic.

On 11 December 2017 we will attend the Technical session - Biomass Self-Consumption Installations organized by the Catalan Biomass Cluster (of which we are a member) and the Technical Forestry Centre of Calalonia. The event will explain how to develop installations of self-consumption using biomass, with respect both to the residential and industrial sectors, as well as the possibilities to 'hybrid' biomass systems with photovoltaic technology.

Piet Holtrop will speak at the event from 10.15am - 10.45am with respect to the legal framework relevant to biomass self-consumption installations. Below, you can review the event program.

On 23 November 2017 a techical event will be hosted by the Intercolegial Técnica del Vallés in Tarrassa which will consider in detail various issues associated with the Electric Vehicle. The program is split into three blocks. The first, in which Piet Holtrop will be a speaker, will discuss the relevant law, the current legislation and potential changes in the future. The second and thirds blocks will develop, respectively, technical aspects and real-life experiences in relation to the Electric Vehicle.

On 24 November we will be attending an event in Vilanova i Geltrú with respect to the experiences of winemaking companies in relation to energy savings and efficiency. The goal is to advance two agendas: the fight against climate change and a reduction in the production costs of these companies. Piet Holtrop will participate as a speaker at 12.15 p.m. to explain key points in the self-consumption regulation.

On 23 November in Granollers we will be attending an event that will discuss the role of solar energy, principally photovoltaic, in industry. Self-consumption and its various modalities will play an important role in the event, which is directed at the private sector and in particular industrial parks. Piet Holtrop will be a speaker. Below, you have the provisional program:

The UNEF ‘Foro Solar’ returns, and with it we likewise return as sponsors. This key date for the photovoltaic sector takes place on 21 and 22 November in Madrid, at the Hotel Silken Puerta América (Avenida de América 41, 28002 Madrid).

The Foro Solar brings together the sector’s main ‘hot topics’ in the political and regulatory spheres, as well as the most relevant technical issues. The foro provides a space for the main actors in the renewable sector, as well as electricity companies, legislative and financial experts, international and national institutions, and the scientific community to come together and debate these issues. Piet Holtrop will participate in the round table on 22 November at 10 a.m. on the debate “What sectors offer the biggest opportunities in the market for photovoltaic self-consumption?”, where the participants will analyze the potential for development of self-consumption in the residential, industrial and service sectors. The debate will be moderated by Ramón Roca and will include Miguel A. Torres, President of the Spanish Wine Federation, Juan Francisco González, head of the Technical and Projects Department at Aros Solar Technology, Juan Antonio Caballero Sánchez, VP of Maintenance & Engineering at NH Hotel Group, and Piet Holtrop.

The event, sponsored by us, will also provide dedicated networking spaces to facilitate the contact and exchange of experiences between professionals.

On Wednesday 15 November 2017 from 9.00 a.m. until 2.00 p.m. the first debate in a series of conferences organized by the Energy Commission of the Industrial Engineers College of Catalonia regarding the energy transition takes place. This first debate, in which a variety of professionals from different backgrounds will participate, it titled the “Energy Transition: What do we expect?”

The event will take place at the hosts’ headquarters at Vía Laietana 39, Barcelona. At 10.00 a.m. Piet Holtrop will participate as a speaker, explaining the regulatory obstacles that exist to successfully achieving the energy transition.

On 14 November the event ‘Self-consumption and energy tariffs’ will take place at the Technical Engineers College in Vilanova i la Geltú. This event will discuss not only self-consumption, but also electrical tariffs, which frequently escape attention in these types of debates despite being vital in the profitability analysis for these projects. The event will take place from 9.00 a.m. until 2.00 p.m. and will involve a presentation from Piet Holtrop, who from 10.00 a.m. until 10.30 a.m. will explain the key legal issues associated with self-consumption.

As it does every year, APPA has prepared its macroeconomic report with respect to the renewables sector. This report relies upon solid data and provides a precise overview of the renewables sector in Spain in 2016. The study is essential to demonstrate with data the positive impact of renewables on the Spanish economy.

The presentation will take place over two ceremonies. The first will be in Madrid, at the Enerclub headquarters on 2 November, then later in Barcelona on 8 November, at the Banc Sabadell headquarters. HOLTROP SLP Transaction & Business Law is a sponsor of this event.

On 3 October INCASOL, at Córcega 273 (Barcelona), will host a debate on the challenges and opportunities presented by the recently approved Catalan law on climate change.

The event, which takes place at 12.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m., will feature Assumpta Ferran, director of ICAEN, who will speak on the National Energy Transition Pact of Catalonia and about how to promote the necessary transition to a more sustainable and social energy model. There will then be a debate in which Piet Holtrop will be a participant.

On Friday, 27 October the seminar ‘Requirements for biomass installations in public buildings’ will take place. The seminar is organized by the Biomass Cluster of Catalonia, a group in which we are partners. In this event, which will be held in the ‘Seu Corporativa d´Infraestructures’ at Vergós 36-42 in Barcelona, aims to debate the principal challenges that exist with respect to the integration of biomass in the public sector. Below, we provide the seminar’s agenda:

On 26 & 27 October at the CSIC Events Room (C/Serrano 117, Madrid) the most important event of the year regarding electric mobility will take place: the IV European Electric Vehicle Congress. Our lawyers Piet Holtrop and Christopher Smith will spend the day in Madrid to attend the event. Below, we provide the event’s agenda, split across two days:

The relevance and importance of this event is demonstrated by the presence of important and influential politicians, businesses and institutions that play a key role in the development of the electric vehicle. You can find more information, as well as the inscription formula, here.

On the 19, 20 & 21 of October 2017 the first Electric Self-consumption Fair will take place in Vic, Barcelona.

Driven by the increasing interest in the sector and the uncertainty surrounding permitted business models in the exploitation of renewable energies, the event aims to bring together participants, visitors and professionals in the electric self-consumption and photovoltaic industries. It is designed to promote self-consumption on both the large scale as well as the small scale through the use of solar panels. HOLTROP SLP Transaction and Business Law will have a stand at the fair.

The fair has free access and has been organized by diverse institutions, both public and private, including the UNEF Catalonian delegation.

On 23 & 24 of October the first National Renewable Energies Congress will take place, organised by APPA. This congress will provide a global vision of the national renewables sector. To do so, the event has been divided into two sessions. On the first day, a business, institutional and political vision will be provided, giving insights into what is necessary for a successful energy transition. The second day will be split into two parallel sessions discussing specific themes.

In the following links you can find the complete program for the event – in which we are sponsors – as well as the inscription form. Below, you have the agenda:

The Energy Efficiency Cluster of Catalonia, together with the members of the operations group that promoted the project “Operating, legal, economic and financial models for the implementation of sustainable and competitive photovoltaic energy in agricultural installations”, have organized for the coming 25 October the event “Electric self-consumption in the agriculture sector in Catalonia”. The event will take place in the Auditori Pompeu Fabra (Vía Laietana, 39 – 5th floor).

The event will analyze the operating, legal, economic and financial models used in the promotion of sustainable and competitive photovoltaic energy in the agriculture sector, using an analysis of the current regulatory framework, the agriculture sector in Catalonia and an examination of experiences and case studies.

Piet Holtrop will speak at the event at 10.15 a.m. to discuss the regulatory framework applicable to self-consumption.

On 5 October 2017 at the Canal Theatres in Madrid (Calle Cea Bermúdez 1) the Third Nissan Forum on Mobility will take place, an event of reference in the debate regarding new developments in sustainable mobility. Below, we provide the agenda:

From our firm we will attend in accordance with our objective to promote and advise in relation to sustainable movement. This commitment to electric and sustainable movement is reinforced through our membership of the AEDIVE association, the Spanish electric car organization.

Next September 27, 2016 Granollers Mercat will organise in collaboration with the Clúster d'Eficiència Energètica (Energy Efficiency Cluster) and the Institut Català d'Energia (the Catalan Energy Institute) the third session of the series "Cicle Tècnic d'Energía a la Indústria" (Tecnical Cicle of Industrial Energy), which are taking place throughout the year 2016. This third session is entitled: "Energies renovables aplicades a la indústria" (renewable Energies applied to industry" and is held in can Muntanyola, Carrer Cami del Mig, 22 - PI Palou Nord in Granollers.

The conference begins at 09:00 and lasts until 14:00. At 09:40 Daniel Perez Rodriguez, partner Holtrop S.L.P. Transaction & Business Law, will do a presentation on the legal specifications of energy consumption. This conference is intended for any company with significant energy consumption derived from its business, such as electricity (for any use), natural gas and other fuels (for thermal use) activity and is directed to the staff of these companies with following profiles : company managers, plant managers, energy managers etc., as well as engineers and specialists.